


Guardian

by HardiganCaptain



Category: Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-08
Updated: 2013-08-08
Packaged: 2017-12-22 19:52:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/917385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HardiganCaptain/pseuds/HardiganCaptain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I have no idea what this is, really I don't. I just had the urge to start writing and it was supposed to go somewhere else but wound up suddenly turning left and rolling on its own. If you didn't know already, I have this weakness for "bad guys" having a weak spot for helpless children.</p><p>Random female orphan, scrappy as hell, catches Bane's attention and he saves her.</p><p>.... Laziest summary in existence</p>
            </blockquote>





	Guardian

It had been months, days on end with nothing more to do than curl up in an over sized chair she'd found in one of the empty rooms and read. The insane amount of books had kept her occupied but eventually even she had grown tired of doing nothing. All her attempts at cleaning had been brought to a halt by the men who stared at her with cool eyes as their hands cleaned their weaponry.

It made her irritable, hiding out in the small library and organizing the books but she had to do something. She paused in the middle of shelving, not sure what had caught her attention until she looked over her shoulder and saw him standing in the doorway. There were lines in his forehead, faint but there, as he watched her.

"I'm organizing. I'm going insane with nothing to do."

"I see."

"I don't think you do," she tossed the book onto a chair, and crossed her arms, unaware she'd mimicked his stance in her own fashion. "I have nothing to do, all day, until you come back and even then I don't spend any time with you alone until it's time for bed."

The words felt childish and the colour on her cheeks was just as much from irritation as embarrassment. Feeling shamefaced at his silence, she felt her shoulders slump.

"Are you finished?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Stepping back, his eyes flicking towards the door, and he waited until she walked past him to follow after closing the door. There were moments she enjoyed his silences, the quiet companionship, this wasn't one of them. Lengthening her strides, she out paced him until she reached their room only to have his fingers lightly grip her elbow.

"Are you tired?"

"No."

His grip tightened and tugged her away from the door, gaze meeting hers for a brief moment before turning and walking down the hallway. With a soft huff she followed, shuffling her footsteps despite how immature she knew it was. Fourteen was far too old for tantrums, and even though she knew that, she still couldn't help the sulky expression and slow steps.

_At first she'd been terrified of the large shape that had filled the doorway to her room, the body of the man who'd tried to rape her bleeding out on the floor. She'd tried killing him too, waiting until he'd been in reach before launching herself at him, the knife flashing crimson as she swung it.  It hadn't worked, he'd all but snapped her wrist to disarm her before taking in the tears of her shirt, and the way her arm had stayed tucked low on her stomach._

_"Come." The word had been hard to hear over the pounding in her ears, and the pain in her arm that had left her throat feeling ragged after the harsh scream she'd let it out._

_He hadn't waited for her to follow, his slow, measured steps easily heard on the wood floors. So it had been a choice. Stay, after figuring out how to get the body out of the house with no one noticing. Or following him and hoping that maybe he'd turn out not to be some kind of slaver and give her a place to eat and sleep.  She wasn't even sure that there were any slavers, but she knew that when all the inmates had been let out, they let out nightmares as well as the almost innocent._

_Scrambling over the dead body, she caught up with him only to stop when the fingers on his hand had slowly uncurled at his side. Flinching back, she made a move to tighten her grip on the knife's handle only to find it gone. It took her a moment to realize that he was offering his hand for her to take. She was twelve years old, she didn't need to hold his hand to cross the street. She'd been sneaking around beneath them for over a year already. Raucous laughter spilled out of one of the houses, music and the sound of breaking glass making her jump, her fingers moving to grip his hand as she pressed close._

_"Where are your parents?"_

_"Dead. Some men broke into the house and killed my Dad, and then they- Well they did to my mom what that guy tried to do to me." Her voice lowered to a whisper, her face contorting, several emotions trying to show at once. "She made me hide in the dryer, but I snuck out when it got quiet and saw them."_

_"Dead was sufficient enough."_

_She glared up at him and pulled away, rubbing the heel of her hand against her cheek. It wasn't sufficient anything. There was no bringing her Dad back, with his big hands that had picked her up and threw her high enough she felt like she could fly. No bringing back her Mom who used to cut her sandwiches into funny shapes to make her smile. What the hell did sufficient mean when both of her guardians against the world were dead._

_"Leave me alone."_

_"You're sure?" He looked around the neighborhood, the graffitied houses, the cars that lined street and yard alike before looking back to her._

_"Yes."_

_It wasn't until after he'd walked off that the party in one of the houses spilled out into the yard, one of the men catching sight of her and whistling suggestively. Stomach churning she backed away slowly, fingers curling into talons as she wished she still had the knife she'd dropped._

_Turning, she ran as fast as her legs would carry her, sliding across the trunk of a car only to stumble over the dead body of its previous owner. The concrete scraped her palms before rising to meet her cheek and grate the skin from it. That pain was nothing compared to the way her blood ran cold at the feeling of rough fingers grabbing a handhold of hair and yanking her upwards. For a moment, all she could do was stare in the eyes that locked on hers, deaf to the threats and filthy promises he was whispering as his other hand slid up her shirt to skim over her skin._

_"NO!" Clawing at whatever she could reach, she let out a screech when he yanked her hair as she tried to kick him as well. "No I won't, no!"_

_She fell with a soft grunt, kicking out at him when he squatted down and gripped her throat in one hand as the other moved to her jeans. Clawing and biting at his arm, her head snapped to the side when he backhanded her. Her vision blurred then faded around the edges before she was suddenly able to breath again, and the oppressive weight was elsewhere._

_"Up."_

_Uncurling, though she didn't remember pulling her knees up to her chest, she tried to stop herself from shaking as she stared up to see Bane standing over her._

_"Now."_

_Her legs almost didn't support her but she stood, her fingers digging into her sides as she stared at him. The man who'd attacked her was laying on the ground, his face was wrong, cheek curved farther inward than it should have been, a trickle of blood coming from his mouth._

_"Follow me."_

"Stop sulking and come here."

Snapped out of her memories, she looked up from the floor and narrowed her eyes at him as she purposefully came to a full stop. She heard the sigh and it caused a low burn on her cheeks that she tried to ignore. When it became apparent that she wasn't going to listen he opened the door he was standing near and raised an eyebrow.

A small puppy stumbled out, yapping as it wriggled before jumping on his boot and pawing at the laces. Letting out a soft noise as his eyes narrowed, he lifted his foot and tossed it towards her, watching as it slid on the floor before laying there confused.

"Don't hurt him!"

Kneeling, she held out a hand, rubbing her fingers together to try and entice it closer. She smiled when it jumped to its feet and half ran, half stumbled over to sniff her fingertips before barking again. Eagerly picking it up to hold it against her chest, she rubbed her face in its fur and laughed when it buried its nose in her ear.

"Name him and take care of him and he's yours."

"Really?" She stared up at him in happy surprise, her fingers tightening until the puppy let out a yelp.

Eyes crinkling around the edges, he nodded before moving to squat down in front of her, his fingers finding themselves gnawed on as the puppy growled.

"Thank you."

"You need a companion for when I'm gone. Dog's are loyal, he will guard you when he's grown and keep you from growing sullen and irritable with playing."

She didn't even care that he'd simultaneously said he cared for her safety and called her a brat all in the same breath. Wriggling puppy threw her off balance, falling back before bursting out laughing as it nosed beneath her jaw. The thick fur was just long enough to bury her fingertips in, dark all over except around its muzzle. When Bane reached out to help her back onto her feet, it growled and tried to bite his wrist that was near its mouth.

"Vormund."Grinning up at him as she cuddled the puppy away from the dark look he sent it. "His name is Vormund."

"The meaning?"

"Guardian."


End file.
